The latest coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic from Research Professional News
Europe
A growing number of governments have promised to use their shares of the EU’s €750 billion Covid-19 recovery spending to boost R&D, as economists warned that the money should be used to drive fundamental change in research capacity.
US
The disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on female and minority researchers in the United States has given rise to fears that progress made on diversity and inclusion could be reversed.
Worldwide
The global initiative at the heart of the rapid development of multiple vaccines against Covid-19 has said that with $3.5bn it could “dramatically reduce or even eliminate” future pandemics and epidemics.
UK
Research funders must make the deployment of cash to scientists faster and more flexible when crises such as pandemics strike, an event on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic has heard.
Most people believe digital technology has a role to play in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic but feel its potential is not being fully realised, according to a new poll.
The government’s roadmap out of lockdown is “consistent” with advice provided by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, Patrick Vallance has insisted. The Royal Statistical Society has called for a full review of health statistics to address issues raised during the Covid-19 pandemic. And the NHS Test and Trace system must improve the data it publishes to prove its effectiveness, MPs have warned, adding that the government cannot treat taxpayers “like an ATM machine”.
Australia
The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes has challenged the federal government to provide A$543 million more in research funding in the May budget.
Ocean researchers at Queensland University of Technology have said the Covid-19 pandemic opened up an opportunity for them to conduct research on the floor of the Great Barrier Reef in 2020.